“Youth must be English…” (poem)

Woman in Red Blouse with Tulips

Youth must be English, for she leaves without goodbyes
You turn around and suddenly you realize
That she is gone, and she has taken summers with her
And autumn weather settles in
Where youth has been

You’re left dumbfounded, in a trance for quite a while
You wear a boyishly defiant little smile
As in the middle of July the leaves are falling
You keep refusing to believe
That she would leave

And even when you know it’s true you hope some day
Some full of summer, irresistible sun day
The day of handless clocks that keep what once was ours
The lazy hours that slowly burn
She will return